


Starstruck

by TigerLilly22



Category: Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight
Genre: F/F, One-Sided Attraction, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-18 03:39:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15476853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigerLilly22/pseuds/TigerLilly22
Summary: Maya can't decide if Claudine is worthy of her awe or pity. To fight one's fate is a fruitless battle, but she stands on this stage regardless. How pointless.





	Starstruck

The curtain rises.

Maya knows the routine, her body having been through the motions a thousand times, her hand instinctively curling to cup the face of the other. Eyes snap open to face their contender.

Claudine Saijo.

They fall away. Maya’s feet bring her to a halt on one end of the stage, Claudine’s the other, swords at the ready. Claudine's breath stills, eyes glinting with a fiery energy that sends thrills down Maya’s skin.

Pointless. The title of Top Star belongs to the worthy, the one who shines above all others, but Claudine is no star. Try as she may, Claudine will never shine on her own. She is destined to shine only with her. Maya will remind Claudine of her place.

They clash with a steely roar, faces so close Maya can see the trepidation lying beneath the confident façade. Sees the grit of teeth, hears the growl of frustration. Good.

This audition with Claudine, like every other Maya delights in, is a puzzle she can't explain. They both know how this will play out: Maya will claim center stage while her shadow watches, forever second fiddle. Fate cannot be changed.

Yet Claudine struggles.

Karen had been much the same. Maya was surprised to see her at an audition, but she supposed it had been inevitable. The girl’s spirit was strong, but her wings were still made of wax. She had flown too close to Maya’s flame and fallen back from her hubris, destined to burn up like a shooting star, but not before Maya reminded her of what she was. A lit match could never hold a candle to the sun. Aijou Karen did not belong on the stage.

But they do.

She’s graceful. Precise. Every stroke of the sword filled with a passion that would fell a lesser opponent, but not Maya. Claudine had yet to ever get so close.

When Claudine draws near, Maya allows it. Their eyes lock, weapons raised but their hands stayed. Her eyes say so much, but for Maya it’s not enough. That is why she dances. Words can never capture what she hopes to relate, the dialogue of her song and the intent of her blade having to suffice. Lyrics spill from Claudine’s lips in a sweet cadence that doesn’t reach Maya’s ears, her senses too lost in the familiar motions of their song and dance. It’s a song she’s heard a thousand times, after all, a battle she’s fought a thousand more. Once again they would become martyrs of the stage, gladly sacrificing body and soul for this performance.

Claudine dances closer, looking to satisfy her hunger. For blood, for pride, Maya suspects both.

The next strike comes too slow, almost lazily in Maya’s opinion. She dodges easily, the hiss of sliced air just nicking the chain of her cloak, but never cutting. Moments like these are what make Maya feel so alive. She parries, the force of their blades sending shockwaves up her arms with every clash, the adrenaline buzzing through her veins in a wild rush of exhilaration. Only during the audition can she ever feel like this, on top of the world. They are the ones everyone has their eyes on.

Every strike sends Claudine back, back, a frown marring that pretty face of hers until she flips back several meters away, readying her blade for another attack. Determination steels her eyes, tightens her grip in a show of steadfast resistance. Her chest heaves with frustration while Maya holds steady, breaths coming in trained intervals. The gap between them is clear, but Maya knows the other will never give up.

Why does she struggle so? They are the fated pair. Doesn’t Claudine see that? She is the star, the sun in the sky, and Claudine is the moon that shines by her side. Together, they stand in the heavens above all, as it should be. Together, they make Starlight. So why does she resist? It doesn’t make any sense.

Yet it makes all too much sense. A blade forged by fire, lovingly poured into a mold by Nature herself, is beautiful. Claudine gives her all, passion oozing out of every pore until she bleeds dry. Every obstacle, every challenge, Claudine fights with every fiber of her being, every ounce of pride in her soul, to show her worth, to change her fate; to prove her mold has radiance deserving of the title Top Star.

_“I haven’t lost.”_

She leaves Maya starstruck.

Claudine lunges, clearing the stage in seconds to meet her once again in a dance of blades, a cathartic flurry of steel and sweat that can only end one way. To believe anything else would be a fool’s wish.

When they meet the stage shifts, another staircase ascending from the depths to raise them up, presenting their performance to the heavens. In the course of the ascension, Maya leaps from the steps to the banister, watching as the staircase detaches and Claudine falls away with the crumbling foundation. The other girl plants her feet on the top step and barely leaps across the growing chasm, slamming into the structure from the waist down as her feet scrabble to find purchase. Maya doesn’t wait, striking down with all her strength. Claudine hisses, gritting her teeth as she rolls to avoid Maya’s blows and regain her stance. When she does, she smirks.

Admirable, but still pointless.

Maya ends it quickly. She strikes the flat of her blade against Claudine’s fingers, sending the sword spiraling down below. Maya flicks her wrist up, cleanly severing the chain across Claudine’s throat and catching her as she falls, customarily complacent in her loss.

She spins them and dips her one last time. Excessively unnecessary, but within her power as victor. Claudine glares, her hand resting on Maya’s chest to steady herself. She wonders if Claudine knows she holds what lies beneath, if she can feel it beating for her.

Regardless, Maya lets her go. She feels that heated gaze follow her up the steps to center stage. Her cloak bellows out as her hands come together, resting powerfully at the hilt as she marks her place and boldly announces to the empty auditorium, “Position zero. This is Tendou Maya.”

From the dark, a deep voice resonates. “I understand.”

It’s finished. Once again Maya has proven her worth, her natural right. She spots Claudine at the bottom of the spiral staircase, immediately locking eyes. Fury rages in the shake of her clenched hands, the wired tightness of her jaw. The beauty of her defiance steals Maya’s breath away.

Claudine will try again. She always does. Always will. Till the day passes that she stands above Maya, she will never stop. Maya doubts it will come to pass, but something bubbles up inside of her - an inscrutable excitement that rattles her to her very core. Maya smiles, causing an all too familiar scrunched frown on Claudine’s brow Maya had burned into her memory long ago.

From the top, Maya bows to her. She can’t wait for next time.

The curtain falls.

**Author's Note:**

> I have mixed feelings about these two, but gosh do I love these thespian lesbians. This is the kind of tension I THRIVE on.
> 
> It feels like I tried to squeeze too much into too little, but this was fun to do anyway. Thank for reading!


End file.
